Transient arrested in California dog death

BELMONT, Calif. (AP) — A man has been arrested after his German shepherd was found unresponsive in a hot truck in the San Francisco Bay Area and later died.

Belmont police say Joseph Regis Jr., a 50-year-old transient, was taken into custody on Monday at a motel on suspicion of animal cruelty.

Capt. Patrick Halleran tells the San Jose Mercury News officers were called to the motel parking lot in the morning after someone spotted the dog in a pickup. They found the 8-year-old German shepherd named Elisha unresponsive without food, water or access to fresh air.

Temperatures in Belmont on Monday were in the upper 80s.

The dog died on the way to a veterinary clinic.

Regis allegedly told police he had checked on the dog at 3 a.m., and it was fine.